Natasha Lomas
Writer
The Latest from Natasha Lomas
Amnesty calls for human rights controls on EU digital surveillance exports
In a new report, Amnesty International says it has found evidence of EU companies selling digital surveillance technologies to China — despite the stark human rights risks of technologies like f
Ireland’s data watchdog slammed for letting adtech carry on ‘biggest breach of all time’
A dossier of evidence detailing how the online ad-targeting industry profiles internet users’ intimate characteristics without their knowledge or consent has been published today by the Irish Co
On lying AIs
A yellow-eyed cat tilts its eyes at the camera, gazing up from a grey bedspread. ‘London Trip’, is the AI’s title for this photo-montage ‘Memory’ plucked from the depths
Twitter tightens account security for political candidates ahead of US election
Twitter is taking steps to tighten account security for a range of users ahead of the US presidential election, including by requiring the use of strong passwords. “We’re taking the additional
Delivery Hero picks up Glovo’s LatAm ops for $272M in latest food delivery consolidation
More consolidation in the thin-margin food delivery space: Delivery Hero has announced it’s buying the LatinAm operations of Glovo, a Spanish on-demand delivery app. The German company said toda
Volocopter kicks off pre-sales for its first air taxi flights — with a wait time of 2-3 years
If your sad-faced technology mantra is “we were promised flying cars and all we got were these shitty internet trolls,” never fear, Germany-based autonomous air mobility startup, Volocopte
Europe will go it alone on digital tax reform in 2021 if it must, says EU president, as bloc directs €150BN in COVID-19 relief toward cloud, AI and broadband
Europe will propose its own digital tax early next year if there’s no agreement at a global level on how to update taxation rules for the internet age, EU president Ursula von der Leyen said tod
Europe’s top court says net neutrality rules bar ‘zero rating’
The European Union’s top court has handed down its first decision on the bloc’s net neutrality rules — interpreting the law as precluding the use of commercial ‘zero ratingR
Sentinel loads up with $1.35M in the deepfake detection arms race
Estonia-based Sentinel, which is developing a detection platform for identifying synthesized media (aka deepfakes), has closed a $1.35 million seed round from some seasoned angel investors — inc
Europe starts testing app interoperability service to power cross-border COVID-19 exposure alerts
The European Commission has begun testing backend infrastructure that’s needed to make national coronavirus contacts-tracing apps interoperate across the bloc’s internal borders. It has ki
YouTube hit with UK class action style suit seeking $3BN+ for ‘unlawful’ use of kids’ data
Another class action style lawsuit has been lodged against a tech giant in the U.K. alleging violations of privacy and seeking major damages. The latest representative action, filed against Google-own
Facebook seeks fresh legal delay to block order to suspend its transatlantic data transfers
Facebook is firing up its lawyers to try to block EU regulators from forcing it to suspend transatlantic data transfers in the wake of a landmark ruling by Europe’s top court this summer. The te
England’s long-delayed COVID-19 contacts-tracing app to launch on September 24
The U.K.’s long-delayed coronavirus contact-tracing app finally has a release date: The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced today that the app will launch in England and Wales
Willo, a freemium video interview SaaS, scores ~$320K during the remote work boom
Glasgow, Scotland-based video interview startup Willo has scored a £250,000 (~$320k) seed round of funding after watching demand for its asynchronous Q&A style video platform leap up during the C
Ola is facing a drivers’ legal challenge over data access rights and algorithmic management
Two ride-hailing drivers are taking India-based Ola to court in the Netherlands in another test case targeted at algorithmic management of gig workers. The case, which is being supported by the App Dr
EU lawmakers say it’s time to go further on tackling disinformation
A major European Commission review of a Code of Practice aimed at combating the spread of disinformation online has concluded the self-regulatory instrument is failing to deliver enough transparency o
Facebook told it may have to suspend EU data transfers after Schrems II ruling
Ireland’s data protection watchdog, the DPC, has sent Facebook a preliminary order to suspend data transfers from the EU to the US, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with t
UK wants pandemic levels of data sharing to be the new normal
The UK government has published a national data strategy today, setting out a plan to promote the use and prioritize the reuse of data as a lever for economic growth and digital innovation. It has als
TikTok joins Europe’s code on tackling hate speech
TikTok, the popular short video sharing app, has joined the European Union’s Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech. In a statement on joining the code, TikTok’s head of trust a
ThoughtRiver nabs $10M to speed up deal-making with AI contract review
ThoughtRiver, a London-based legaltech startup that’s applying AI to speed up contract pre-screening, has announced a $10 million Series A round of funding led by Octopus Ventures. Existing see